Choosing the Right Saw Blade for the Job By Sean Duncan At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

Although shopping for a saw blade should not be a complicated affair, there are some very important decisions that you have to make about the blade you are going to use. It is not necessarily that one blade is simply better than other. Different types of saw blades are built to effectively work on different types of jobs. Once you have the basics of saw blades down, however, it will be easy for you to pick the right saw for the right job.

To begin with, the number of teeth that a blade has will significantly affect its performance. For simply powering through large amounts of lumber quickly and efficiently, a blade with fewer teeth will be an ideal choice. A blade with around 20 teeth will tear through lumber easily. The drawback here, however, is that the cut it makes will be at least somewhat rough along the edges. On the other hand, such a saw will operate very quickly and get the job done in a minimum amount of time.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, you can find saw blades with as many as 80 teeth. When a blade has this many teeth, it will make very smooth cuts along the edge, leaving your workpiece with a polished appearance. This type of blade is best used in situations when the edges must be very smooth, such as in furniture production. These blades are commonly known as crosscut saws. The drawback with a crosscut saw is that it will not operate as quickly as a rip cut saw with fewer teeth.

Another important factor when choosing the right saw blade is the gullet of the blade. The gullet of a blade is the crevice inbetween each tooth. The gullet takes the excess material from the workpiece and ejects it, allowing the blade to continue along. A shallow gullet will slow the saw blade and encourage a smoother cut along the edge. A deep gullet along the saw blade will give the blade a bigger bite, allowing it to run along the wood faster.

Saw blades also have varying types of teeth configurations. A flat top tooth is best for ripping through wood, and will work quickly and efficiently through a piece of wood. For a smoother cut, however, you might want to choose an alternate top bevel (ATB) type tooth, which uses a more knife-like action to create a smoother edge. For the absolute smoothest cut, go for something like a high alternate top bevel (HiATB).

The hook angle of the blade teeth is another factor to look at carefully. A high forward hook angle, or positive angle, will assist the blade in cutting rapidly through the material. A negative hook angle, or teeth that are angled opposite the direction of the blade, will slow down the saw and prevent too much material from being feed into the blade.

These are some of the most important factors when it comes to choosing a saw blade. With this knowledge, you should be able to pick out an appropriate saw blade for your particular needs.

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